EVEN in its ninth year of production, BMW’s iconic R1200 GS is still setting the benchmark for “Gelande/Strasse” motorcycles—the “GS,” which is German for off-road/road. With over 170,000 examples of the bike sold, it has become the most successful enduro in the world.

Recently, BMW released the new 2013 rendition of the biggest, baddest GS which, according to the company, has increased overall touring and off-road performance, improved noise and exhaust emission levels, and received better active and passive safety features, all without neglecting the model’s established virtues—the typical GS styling included.

So the latest R1200 GS received a newly designed air/water-cooled boxer engine that has a vertical through-flow, integrated six-speed gearbox and left-hand cardan shaft drive, and which outputs 125 horsepower at 7,700rpm and 125 Newton-meter of torque at 6,500rpm to propel 238 kilograms of machinery. It also gets an “electromotive throttle actuator,” a first for a GS, which basically is a drive-by-wire system; five riding modes that work with the bike’s Automatic Stability Control; a new semi-active suspension that adapts damping automatically to riding conditions; and a completely new tubular all-steel bridge frame with a bolt-on rear frame. The 2013 GS’s brakes have been extensively revised, too, with Brembo monobloc brake calipers in front and a larger disc at the rear.

Along with a long—really long—list of kit and rider equipment, the latest model has four fancy paintjobs to choose from, all of which suitably distinct to conquer the planet with. FAST TIMES